Not Another Fairy Tail
by samx5453
Summary: Bella literally becomes a fish out of water after meeting Emmett. He helps her experience things she never thought she would have the chance to, but will love be on that list? Will her family be able to accept her new life? Only time will tell.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I had never felt a pain like I was feeling from the tip of my tail ever before and the throbbing from my head wasn't helping at all. I laid there for a moment soaking up what was going on around me. My eyes shot open and I rose up when I realized that I was breathing too frequently to be in the water and that I was dry. Looking around I found that I was on a bed in the corner of a very small room that smelt terrible. Tracing back in my mind the last thing I remember doing was swimming to the surface to take deep breath, next thing I remember is waking up here.

I was pondering what could have happened and who could have helped me when the door creaked as it opened revealing a huge guy who I had never met or seen before. "Thank God you're awake." I couldn't take my eyes off of him; I was afraid of what he was going to do. Not many of my kind meet humans and those who do don't trust them enough to tell them what they really are and here I am not able to lie because he has already seen my tail.

He took a quick step towards me causing me to panic; without thinking I scurried to the opposite side of the bed and hissed in pain when I got there. He looked worriedly at me before raising his hands as if he was surrendering before he took much slower steps towards the bed and me. "You don't have to be afraid of me, I'm not gonna hurt you." I took long deep breaths but still didn't look away from him. I had to admit that he was by far one of the most attractive beings I have ever laid eyes on.

His barely there black hair was just long enough for you to run you fingers through without having anything to actually hold onto. I swear I had never seen so many muscles on one body; his arms were covered in muscles and you could tell by the tightness of his tank top that his chest matched his arms and legs that were showing thanks to his tan cargo shorts. However, his most appealing feature would have to be his gorgeous blue eyes; they are bluer than any of the seven seas, and I could testify since I have been to all of them.

He carefully sat on the opposite side of the bed from me being sure to not jostle my foot more than absolutely necessary. I held onto the sheet tightly since it was the only thing that was keeping him from getting a free show. "I just want to check your," he looked confused when he saw my legs, "foot?" I shook my head and curled myself into a tighter ball trying to keep him from touching me. "You can understand me?" I nodded my head slightly. "Good, I just want to make sure your foot is ok, if it isn't taken care of properly than it could get infected, which could be deadly out here on the ocean."

I thought about it for a few moments before I carefully, and slowly, slid my foot out to him; he sighed and relaxed a little when I did this. He slowly removed the wrap that was currently falling off of it before he inspected the wound. I watched his face trying to see if he would give anything away without knowing it, but his facial expressions stayed the same. "That's really weird." I panicked and looked down but saw nothing out of the ordinary, besides having a foot instead of a tail. "Your toes nails, they are the same color that your tail was." I just shrugged not seeing how that was the weird thing considering I had a huge gash in my foot. "Well it doesn't look too bad considering but I think we I need to clean it again." He looked at me as if I had a say in what he was gonna do and when I didn't respond he continued with what he was doing.

He reached under the bed and pulled out a red box but he opened it before I had a chance to read the writing that was on it. "This is gonna hurt." I nodded at him letting him know I heard him and understood what he was saying. He had a clear bottle with clear liquid which he poured on a cloth then used it to clean the wound. I hissed in pain, it felt like a thousand needles were stabbing at an already soar area. He had pity in his eyes when he looked at me and placed his free hand over my ankle to keep me from moving.

After what felt like hours of torture he stopped cleaning it and wrapped it up again. "What happened?" He scratched the back of his head before leaning back against the opposite side of the bed but he still held onto my ankle as he mindlessly massaged my calf. "I was out in the water free-diving and I was on my way up to the surface when all I saw was what looked like a fin. I had seen sharks around this area before and I just reacted. I stabbed with my ankle knife. Next thing I know we both have broken the surface, you were screaming and there was blood all around us. I didn't even know what you were until I had pulled you out of the water and onto the deck of the boat, by that point you were out cold and I wasn't sure what to do with you. I mean did you need to be in the water or would you be ok out of it but I figured out of it would be better since you were bleeding and every shark in the area was bound to show up. I'm Emmett by the way."

He kept massaging my leg keeping my mind off of the pain but I think he just needed something to keep his hands busy. I wasn't sure if I should be thankful that he pulled me out of the water, essentially saving my life, or worried about what he had planned for me. I guess it didn't really matter how I should feel right now the only thing that mattered was finding out if I was safe with this man or in danger. "I'm Bella."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Emmett stayed with me until I fell asleep again, apparently getting stabbed and passing out in the water can really wear you out. When I woke up it was quiet in the room and he was nowhere to be seen. I sat there for a while looking at all the things he had around the room and couldn't believe the mess he had them in. Then there was the huge pile of clothes that lay in the corner of the room and I was afraid something was going to crawl out of the pile and attack me.

After looking over the room for the tenth time I decided I needed to get out of the room before I go crazy. Getting out of the bed and moving around wasn't too difficult but I didn't take into consideration that I would need something to wear once I was up and moving around. There was no way I was going to wear any of Emmett's clothes, even if I could tell the clean from the dirty they would still fall right off of me. The only option I could see was to just wrap the sheet around myself. Once I had it tied like a sarong I carefully headed towards the door. My foot was really sore but it was bearable as long as I didn't stay on it for too long.

I opened the door and groaned when I saw a flight of stairs that I would have to climb to get out of here. Considering that I am so not used to having legs in the first place stairs were extremely difficult to master, but add to it that the stairs are on a ship that was currently on the ocean just amplifies the difficulty by ten. I felt like a child learning to walk and I took the stairs one at a time holding on tight to the railing so I wouldn't fall and get even more injured.

A huge triumphant smile spread across my face when I reached the top of the stairs. The smell of the ocean water was amazing and the feel of the sun on my face was marvelous, I felt like I was home even though I was not even in the water. "I don't think you should be walking on that foot." I opened my eyes and looked to my left where Emmett was leaning against the railing of the ship. "I couldn't stay in that room any longer I was getting claustrophobic."

I blushed as I watched his eyes rake over me standing there in nothing more than a sheet from his bed. I swear I saw a twinge of shame in his eyes when he reached mine, almost like he as ashamed of getting caught looking at me. "Well in that case why don't you sit in that chair and I will go get you something to eat; I'm sure you are starved." Oddly enough wasn't hungry until he mentioned food.

Judging by the sun it was late in the afternoon and the sun would soon be setting and when I didn't come home I'm sure my dad would send out a search party, like always. It's not uncommon for me to disappear without a trace and every time it happens he sends out loads of search parties until I am found. This time won't be so easy since I am obviously not near any of my typical hiding spots. In all honesty I have no idea where I am.

Emmett returned with two plates full of food and a triumphant smile on his face. He sat in the chair that was next to me but closer to the ground. I looked at the food skeptically when he handed me the plate. "Um, what's this?" He chewed the food that was in his mouth before answering with a mouth full of food. "It's ham and cheese with salt and vinegar chips." I wracked my brain trying to remember what humans call their food in different countries. "Ham, as in meat, from a pig?" This time he spared me the sight of chewed food and just nodded his head. I didn't want to be too much of a bother so I sucked it up and just took the ham off of the sandwich and placed it on the plate before proceeding to eat the, now, cheese sandwich and chips.

"You don't want your ham?" I shrugged at him, it sounded as if he had never met someone who refuses to eat something before. "I don't eat meat." His eyes almost popped out of his head at hearing this, "Not even fish?" I rolled my eyes at the shock in his voice. "No." "Then what the hell do you eat out there?" I sighed before putting my plate down, "Most of the time I eat seaweed and different types of sea grasses and occasionally algae and phytoplankton, however most of my kind do eat meat so they will eat anything from fish and crustaceans to sharks and whales."

He was really quiet for a while so I finished my food and watched as the sun got closer to the horizon. "Are there many of your kind out there?" I shrugged my shoulders and kept my face down looking at the ground. I didn't want to tell him too much about my kind in case he was to go looking for them but I also hated lying to anyone about anything. I played with my gold star fish necklace before I bucked up the courage to answer him. "In comparison to humans we are very small in population and we scatter throughout the seven seas to stay unnoticed."

I looked up just in time to watch the last rays of light disappear. "Oh, I thought that you were gonna tell me that your kind lives among the humans and we are just unaware of it." I wasn't sure how to tell him that those of us who decide to live among the humans are often banished from the communities and families and would not be welcomed back after such a crime. "No Emmett, none of my kind are hiding out with your kind." He looked like he didn't believe me, which I am sure he didn't.

"Can I ask you a question now?" He nodded and waited for me to ask. I took a deep breath trying to prepare myself for a worst case scenario. "If I wanted to leave, would you let me?" He made a noise that I couldn't really describe it was like a growl mixed with a sigh while he scratched the back of his head. "I would be a liar if I said I didn't think about the possibilities I could have from keeping you, but that was back before I knew if you were gonna wake up. Then you were able to talk, not just talk but speak my language and then you had a name. I know that being the one to discover a new species, especially one that is believed to be mythical, would mean fame for me but I don't think I could do that to you."

I still wasn't sure if I believed everything he was saying to me but there was just something about him that made me want to believe him, I guess I would just have to be cautious until he proved to me that I could trust him with not only my life but my families as well.

"That's good to know."

"Do you want to leave?"

I hadn't anticipated him asking me that question right away and the look in his eyes made me think he was afraid of my answer. "Not yet." I caught a glance at his smile before he tilted his head down to look at the ground. He must not have wanted me to leave but didn't want me to feel trapped here with him; I just wasn't sure why he didn't want me to leave.

The night breeze coming off of the ocean was colder than I was used to causing me to shiver and goose bumps to pop up. I rubbed my arms slowly trying to be coy about the coldness of the air but Emmett saw right through it. "I'm gonna drop the anchor here for the night and get some shut eye so if you want to head on down that's cool." I carefully stood trying not to put too much pressure on my foot before grabbing the now empty plates from our meal. "Just leave 'em. I can get it on my way down."

Watching him move about the ship so he could drop anchor was fascinating. I wanted to learn as much as I could about human's for the longest time but Daddy would never allow such things, so I stuck with what we thought we knew and what others would report from the travels around the world. "Emmett," his questioning stare made me smile, "thanks for not leaving me to the sharks today." "It was the least I could do since I was the one that stabbed you." The silence between us was oddly calming and I didn't want to end it but when the wind blew again I couldn't help but shiver violently. "I'll see you below."

The bedroom was still just as messy as it was when I first left it so I tried to gather all of his clothes to at least to put them all in one pile in one corner instead of them being all around the room. I was very surprised to see that there was actually a floor below the layer of crap that I had moved to the far corner of the room. Even more surprising no little creatures came out to visit or attack me for destroying their homes.

I wasn't quite sure how we were going to handle the sleeping arrangements for the night. It didn't seem right for me to force Emmett out of his own bed but I did not want to share a bed with a man I have only known for a couple of hours. My ponderings were short lived as Emmett entered the room, "Wow, I do have a floor in here." I blushed, "Yeah it's amazing what picking things up can accomplish or in this case just pushing it all to the corner of the room."

Both our eyes drifted to the bed as silence crept back over us, Emmett clearing his throat broke the silence before he grabbed a pillow off the bed and two blankets out of the closet. Before I had a chance to stop him he was laying on the floor in a makeshift bed. "Emmett, get off the floor and sleep in your bed." Ignoring me he just rolled over onto his side facing the wall opposite the bed. "I'm serious I can't sleep in your bed knowing that you are on the floor less than 10 feet from me." Groaning he rolled back over to look at me, "Well I won't sleep in the bed while you are on the floor. I may not be a complete gentleman all the time but my mom did raise me right."

Groaning I grabbed the remaining pillow and the two blankets from the bed before tossing them to the floor as close to the bed as I could get without going under it. "Fine, I guess we will both be sleeping on the floor then." I drifted off to sleep while Emmett mumbled something along the lines of 'stubborn female who won't listen'.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The rocking of the boat on the ocean was surprisingly comforting; being able to swim in the ocean meant I never had to worry about riding on a boat so this was a completely new experience for me. It was so calming that I didn't want to get up and join the world of the living just yet, at least that was until I realized that the person who had kicked me all night long was no longer asleep next to me.

I held the blanket I used during the night to my chest as I quickly sat up to try and locate Emmett but he was nowhere to be found. Instead of seeing his dimpled smile I was greeted with a now spotless room and a pile of clothes that were clearly too small for him to wear.

I wasn't sure where he got these clothes from or if I even really wanted to know but I was overjoyed to be able to be covered by something more appropriate than a sheet. The jean shorts were a little too big and the t-shirt fit too snug for my liking but they would do, for now.

The pain in my foot returned tenfold when I started climbing the stairs which I quickly gave up and just crawled up the stairs. I stopped two stairs short of reaching the deck when a shadow suddenly covered me, slowly my gazed lifted from the floor, which was currently eye level, up to see the outline of Emmett standing in front of the blazing sun.

"You're really determined to not be stuck in my room," he laughed as he extended his hand to me, which I refused to take. I yelped as he groaned and tossed me over his shoulder like I weighed absolutely nothing. "Put me down." I could hear him sigh before roughly dropped me on the same chair I was on yesterday but this time it was moved to a shaded part of the deck and there was already of bowl of fruit waiting on the table next to me.

"You don't like to have people do things for you, do you?" I took the bottle of water that he was handing me and took a long sip before answering, "I'm not used to needing help. I was always the one to help others never the one receiving help." He sat in the chair on the other side of the table as we both began to eat; he ate bacon and eggs while I got a cut up banana, shredded coconut, and chunks of pineapple.

The silence while we ate was maddening it was almost like I was back at home eating dinner with my father again. "Thank you for the clothes and the food." He smirked as he tossed the last bit of bacon into his mouth and smiled. "No problem, I wasn't sure if they would fit you but I figured it was worth a try. You're welcome to any or the clothes that are in pink duffle bag on the bench seat down stairs." I smiled a thank you and finished my own food as he went to work on things I would never be able to understand nor be able to do.

Around mid day I fully understood why Emmett had moved my chair into the shade; the day's sun was brutal on deck. I was burning up just from sitting all day out of the sun; I couldn't imagine being out in the sun running around the ship like Emmett was.

We were actually sailing today and it was fascinating to watch Emmett run around doing the work that I could only assume should be done by two or three men. Eventually he got too hot and took his shirt off and I couldn't help but watch his muscles move; every time he would look over at me I would blush and look away pretending to stare at something other than him.

We listened to music that I had never heard before and I was shocked by how many of the lyrics Emmett seemed to be able to sing. At home we had a few songs that we would all sing together when celebrating a birthday or wedding but music was never really a source of entertainment like it obviously is on land.

"How's the foot?"

I jumped when he sat down next to my foot and pulled it onto his lap. "Well it doesn't hurt right….NOW." I hissed as he pulled the old bandage off making me regret my previous statement. "Rephrase, didn't hurt." The bandage was now stained red and yellow from the wound and I felt woozy knowing that everything on that came out of me. Emmett inspected it before he grabbed a pillow from behind my back and placed my foot on it. "It looks better than it did yesterday but I think you should let it get some air before we bandage it up." His eyes drifted to the ocean behind me as he talked, "I was gonna jump in the ocean to cool off real quick before I start to make something for us to eat. Is that ok?"

I looked over my shoulder at the beautiful blue sea desperately wanting to jump in and swim faster than this ship could sail, however I know that my tail fin will be in no condition to be used just by looking at my foot. I feel like a child who longs to have a toy but knows that mom and dad can't afford it. I want to tell him no, that he can't go in the ocean and leave me alone but I can tell he needs to be in the water almost as much as I want to be there.

"Go, before I change my mind and jump in with you."

He looked at me as if he knew I was serious making sure it really was ok with me if he left and I just rolled my eyes at his drama. I blushed as red as the sky at sunset when Emmett caught me looking at his butt as his shorts got tighter when he climbed over the railing. Water splashed me from him jumping in the water and I shrieked at how cold the water was compared to my skin.

"Sorry!"

I stood and leaned on the railing so that I could look out and see him playing in the water. He kept staring at me like he was waiting for me to do a trick or something. "What are you looking at?' He slowly raised his hand from under the water and pointed at my legs."Your legs." There were little spots from where the water hand splashed me and those spots were now the same metallic teal color of my tail instead of the color of my skin. I never knew that this could happen. I was always completely in the water or completely out of it, but I guess it makes sense. Clearly that wasn't enough water to give me a tail but just enough to cause my skin to start to change.

I wiped the wet spots away and just as quickly as they appeared the color faded. The splashing from Emmett climbing out of ocean drew my attention away from the weirdness of my legs over to the ladder that he was climbing up. I guess I would never be able to get myself out of the ocean and onto this ship since you need the ability to climb which you can't with a tail.

"Done already?"

He shook his wet head as he rubbed his towel through what little hair he actually had and then down the rest of his body. I had to bite my bottom lip to keep from moaning; I had no clue what was wrong with me, no other male has ever had this type of effect on me, especially not James who I am supposed to marry. "Yeah, I just needed to cool off after working on the deck all day, besides we haven't eaten in a while I figured you might be hungry." Just as the words left his mouth my stomach decided to growl.

Emmett tried to get me to sit back down while he went to find something for us to eat but I was tired of sitting down. "Will you just go; I swear I'm fine standing." He groaned and threw his hands up in the air and for a moment I thought he was gonna throw me over his shoulder again but he instead just walked away leaving me standing at the railing looking out at the ocean.

As I stared at the beautiful and calm water I couldn't help but think of my family. I'm sure my dad has driven himself crazy not knowing where I am. If I had to guess he was probably pulling his hair out trying to think of where I ran off to while having everybody search the seven seas for me. I guess that's what happens when the only heir of the sea king goes missing. Last time I didn't come home before dinner Daddy wouldn't let anyone eat or sleep until I had been found, I just hoped that he wasn't driving them all ragged.

I could just picture them all looking for me in all of my normal hiding places and the panic when I was still unfound. No one ever wanted to let my dad down especially when my safety was on the line. I imagine James is the head of the search party playing the part of the worried fiancé. I'm sure he is really playing this up and making it seem as though he really cares for me when we actually hate each other.

We have been forced together since we were born, literally. We were born on the same day. My mother passed away during child birth leaving just me and my dad while James's father died half way through his mother's pregnancy; he was trying to protect her from a shark. Due to the lack of mates my father and James's mother were drawn to each other.

One thing you need to know about us merpeople is that once you take a mate that is the only one you will ever have, we aren't careless with our hearts like most humans. So, Daddy and Elsa were never romantically involved but they did become close friends raising children alone. Dad would play sports with James while Elsa taught me how to cook she never replaced my mother but she was the closest thing to a mother I ever had.

Naturally they assumed that James and I should get married and unlike all the other merpeople in the seven seas I didn't get to pick my mate, at least not as freely. If I liked a guy my dad would always find a reason that we shouldn't be together or that he wouldn't be right as the next King. It was our eighteenth birthday when Daddy and Elsa told us that they decided we would get married when we turned twenty-two and that by the time we are twenty-five Daddy would step aside and let us have the kingdom. Honestly I didn't benefit from this at all but James was to gain everything since the King is the ruler not the queen.

I was so distracted by my thoughts that I didn't even notice that Emmett had returned with two plates of food and was calling my name. "Bella, are you ok?" I jerked my head over to look at him, "What?" "I asked if you were ok, you seemed kind of out of it." I carefully made my way over to my chair and sat down pulling my legs up so that the uninjured one was crossed under the injured in front of me and took the plate Emmett was handing me. "I'm ok, I was just thinking about what my friends and family were probably up to right now."

"You're homesick."

I shrugged my shoulders trying to get over it, but the more I tried the more I missed being home. It's not the actual people I missed but the freedom that the ocean provides; I missed the feel of the salt water on my skin and the rush I get from zigzagging between rocks and caves. There's nothing that can compare to being free without having to worry about anything or one but yourself.

"So, exactly what were you doing in the ocean when you stabbed me, I know you said you were free diving, but for what?"

He finished chewing his food and pointed at my untouched plate so I started picking at it still not sure what exactly I like of this food. "I was looking for sunken ships. If you find one and can identify it they can be worth millions of dollars. I've never personally found one but you always hear stories about how someone found the biggest haul out in the middle of the ocean but died before they could get it pulled up." I set my utensil down and folded my arms on the table.

"So you're a treasure hunter." He nodded his head, "Well I can assure you that there wasn't a sunken ship anywhere near where you were looking. In fact most of the sunken ships in this area would be closer to the islands." I leaned back in the chair and pulled my long black hair over my shoulder and ran my fingers through it trying to untangle it. I desperately needed to brush it but I didn't want to impose on Emmett again by asking for one.

"I don't mean to be rude, but if you haven't even found a ship yet then how do you survive?"

He sighed as he pushed his almost empty plate to the side. "I actually don't work. When I was seventeen my parents died in a car crash and left everything, including their successful law firm to me. Since I was too young to run the law firm and I had no interest in being a lawyer I just let the remaining partners run the business. As long as I show up to the board meeting every few months I get my cut from the business. Between that and the life insurance policies and the trust I was left I have more than enough money so that I don't have to work unless I want to."

Emmett was staring adamantly at his fisted hands on the table so I reached out and clasped them in one of my own, "I'm sorry, about your parents." He moved his hands so that both of his were now wrapped around my one, "Thanks." He took a deep breath before he looked at me and chuckled. I was so confused and I didn't know what to do, "What's so funny?" He continued to laugh, "I just told you that whole story and you probably don't even know what a lawyer, law firm or a trust even is. Hell do you even know what a car is?"

I quickly pulled my hand back from his and crossed my arms over my chest like a child. "I'm not stupid. My kind isn't stupid! I can tell you more about humans than you could ever even fathom to know about merpeople." We sat there in silence for a long period of time and I thought it was never going to end but I was too upset to care.

It was so quiet that I almost jumped out of my skin when Emmett spoke, "I'm sorry, I never meant to offend you." I looked at him and gave nothing more than a slight nod to let him know I had heard him.

"So, how do you know about humans?"

I smiled as I remembered hearing that tales of humans, "Well there used to be merpeople who would talk to humans all the time but over the years it got more dangerous so most of them stopped. Those who did wrote their tales down so that we would never forget what we've learned. There have always been a brave few who would wonder ashore and learn as much as they could before coming back and sharing the stories. My father of course forbids this so we had to keep it a secret but I always attended when someone would return. Every once in a while we would have a nomad come through who would know things about multiple cultures and teach us. One tried to teach us how to speak French but it was hard to keep up with it without my dad knowing."

I yawned when I finished telling him my story, when I looked at Emmett his eyebrows were almost up into his hair line. "What?" "That was a huge yawn; I've never seen someone yawn for that long before." I blushed and ran my hand through my hair pushing it out of my face. "Yeah, that's because of my lungs. Merpeople have bigger lungs than humans so that we don't have to breathe as often underwater." He leaned back in his chair and tucked his hands behind his head, "That's cool, I wish I had that." I leaned forward with my elbow on the table and my chin in my hand. "It only works because our body temperate is lower than yours which slows our heart down and then we use up less oxygen."

"How long can you stay under water without breathing?"

"Well I've never actually timed it but longer than dolphin but less than a whale. What about you, you said you free-dive, what's the longest time for you?"

He got this wonderful glow in his eyes when he spoke about anything related to the water and I wasn't disappointed this time, "Well my personal record is 14 minutes and 22 seconds, in motion, but the world record is like 20 minutes, while being still. I've never really tried to stay still in the water so I don't really know what my standing time would be." He tried to fight it but eventually Emmett yawned, showing that I wasn't the only tired one. Standing he said, "Maybe we should get some sleep; it's been a long day." I took one last look up at the almost full moon before grasping Emmett's extended hand and heading to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next morning I woke before Emmett and I couldn't just sit around waiting for him to wake up so I quietly grabbed some clothes and got dressed, in the bathroom, before heading above deck. I was still careful of my foot but it was much easier to move around; Emmett was right the fresh air did do it a lot of good. It's wasn't even close to being healed yet but it was much better and hurt less.

I stood at the railing watching the water as it lapped against the side of the ship feeling way too much envy towards the fish that I could see swimming around freely. I felt like I was being tortured by being kept away from the water and this time my will wasn't strong enough. I figured it couldn't hurt anyone but me if I took a little swim. I quickly made sure that no one was around before I removed my clothes that Emmett gave me and just jumped right in.

The feel of the cool water on my skin was amazing. It was like I had never experienced being underwater before. Even though I could feel the excitement coursing through my veins my heart stayed with its calm rhythm. The weirdest part was getting used to having my tail back, of course I was more used to it than legs but it took a moment to remember how to maneuver in the water.

I swam under and all around the ship several times before I needed to break the surface to breath and when I did there was Emmett looking down at me smiling. "Having fun?" I bit my lip before I nodded and continued to move from side to side with my head above the water. "You look angelic in the water, the most beautiful creature I've ever seen." This time I looked down as blood rushed to my cheeks because no one has ever called me beautiful before and it felt really great to hear someone say those words.

When I finally dared to look back up at him he was still staring down at me with his dimpled grin on his face. "You should get in, the water feels amazing." He shook his head at me and just kept smiling, "Why Not?" This time he looked out passed me towards the horizon, "Because I need to get the boat moving again, if I don't make it to land by tomorrow then I will be out of food and clean clothes." I didn't miss that he used the word I instead of we and I was afraid he thought this meant that I didn't want to stay with him anymore.

I swam over to the ladder that was down in the water as I called over my shoulder, "Well can you help me out of the water." He slowly walked the length of the ship before he was at the ladder and was looking down at me. "You don't have to come with me. I told you before you're free to go whenever you want to." I raised myself up so that everything was out of the water except my tail and my arms were as high up on the ladder as I could reach. "I know; I'm just not ready to go yet… Unless you don't want me to come with you then I completely understand."

Emmett slowly squatted down in front of me and pulled my arms up so they were around his neck and grabbed my waist pulling me out of the water. I got him completely soaked when he pulled me from the water but he didn't seem to care as he carried me towards my chair where there was now a towel waiting for me. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face because that meant that he really hoped that I wouldn't want to leave and that I would be getting back on the boat, but then I wondered how long he had been watching me.

As soon as he sat me down on the chair he started to dry my tail, "Emmett," he looked up, "I can dry myself." I almost laughed when I a saw a blush spread over his entire face. "You know I'm really glad you weren't leaving." I grabbed his hand in mine and smiled, "Me too." We both sat there in silence for several minutes just looking into each others eyes before he jerked his head and jumped up from the chair.

"If we're gonna make it to land I should really get to work."

He ran a hand over his hair and looked around the boat before running over to grab my clothes and bring them back to me, "You'll probably need these." I took them without looking up at him and whispered my thanks before he went to work pulling up the anchor and getting the boat in motion.

The breeze from us moving helped to dry me faster than normal and I was able to get dressed in no time. I wasn't sure how far we were from wherever Emmett wanted to land so I just sat there watching him operate again until I drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

I woke just in time to see the island just a head and I was so excited and nervous that I was actually bouncing no matter if I was sitting or standing. "Wow you're like a Mexican Jumping bean right now." I raised my eyebrows at him completely confused by his reference. "Sorry, you probably have no idea what that is." I shook my head. "I don't but if they bounce all over the place like I am, then yeah that's probably a good description of me right now."

He placed his hands on my shoulders, "Why are you so nervous?" With not being able to move around anymore I began rubbing my hands together but then he grabbed them and stopped that nervous tick. "I've never been around humans before, except you. What if they can tell I'm different? What if someone locks me away in a cage or they cut me open or do experiments on me or…" Emmett grabbed my face in both of his hands, "Bella, stop." I looked him dead in the eye, "No one will be able to tell you're different and I promise I won't let anyone hurt you…. Do you trust me?" In his eyes I saw nothing but truth so I took a deep breath and nodded as much as I could with him holding my face. He smiled at me and I almost had a heart attack when he pulled me to him giving me a hug and kissed my forehead before he went back to work on the boat.

I stood there for a few minutes dumbfounded about what just happened. I wasn't sure if he meant that to mean anything or if it was just to comfort me in a time of need but if felt like something more to me. I decided to file that away for the time being and focus on the task at hand and that was to pretend to be human.

When we finally were able to get off the boat I was so excited and nervous at the same time. They were sure to see me and know I was different but Emmett had assured me that no one would think I was anything other than a beautiful woman, which made me blush redder than a crab. I knew from my friends and from looking at the others in our community that I wasn't unattractive but I never thought of myself as anything special.

"OK so first things first, we need to get you some clothes cause you can't keep wearing the crap that I have on the boat."

I looked down at the shorts and shirt I was wearing and I didn't think they were that bad, yeah the shirt was tight and the shorts were being held up only because of the belt I found at the bottom of the bag but I didn't think it was that bad.

"OK, then where do we go to get clothes?"

"Um, I'll take you to the mall but first we need to stop and get someone to help us."

"Who?"

I wanted to throw something at him as he ignored my question and started walking off without me. I called out to him but he just kept on walking as if I wasn't calling him at all. I walked, as quickly as I dared, towards him hoping he wouldn't really leave me alone without any idea of where I was. I figured if I actually got lost then I could at least try and remember my way back to the boat and wait for Emmett there, but who knew when he would make his way back there.

When Emmett got to an intersection on the pier he slowed down to look for me and waited for me to catch up. "Sorry, I forgot that you have no idea where you are." I blushed when he reached down and grabbed my hand before he continued to lead me towards wherever we were going.

It took us only ten minutes of walking along the coast to get to our destination, a bar. "Emmett isn't a little early in the morning for a drink?" He chuckled but continued inside. It was dark inside and really quiet. I had never seen a place like this before and I was sure that it was amazing when there were people there, not that I had anything to compare it to. The closest thing to a bar, or party, that we had in our community was our dinners. Daddy insisted that we all get together to eat dinner every night as if we are a big happy family.

"Sorry man we're clo…. Emmett!"

I stopped walking and let go of Emmett's hand when the man behind the bar jumped over it and ran towards us lifting Emmett off the ground in a huge hug when he reached us. "You son of a bitch, where have you been? It's been like two months since we've seen you around here." He looked over Emmett's shoulder noticing me as he spoke, "And this time you have a girl with you." Emmett slightly turned his body allowing me to come closer to them without being the center of attention. "Yeah, Jasper this is Bella, Bella this is my best friend Jasper."

Jasper stuck his hand out grasping mine and gave it a firm shake before saying, "Yeah some best friend; you disappear for two months without even a word. Although I can't say I blame him, if I were dating you I wouldn't want to share you with anyone either." I couldn't stop the blood from rushing to my cheeks at the compliment and it just got worse when he leaned down and kissed the back of my hand. "OK that's enough of that." Emmett took my hand from Jasper and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I've never seen him like this before and I have to say it's nice to see he cares. Since we've been alone on the boat we haven't had the chance to interact around other people so seeing him like this was a major change.

"Jasper I could really use your help back here."

"Rose come out here and see who finally came back."

A door behind the bar swung open and a tall blonde carrying a box emerged, "What are you yelling about? Oh my God, Emmett we thought you were dead." Just like Jasper she jumped over the bar and ran towards us and jumped into Emmett's arms, he had to remove his arm from around me to catch her. They held onto each other longer than I thought was entirely necessary and when he put her down she didn't step back right away but instead waited until Emmett draped his arm around me again.

"Um, Rose this Bella," he looked over at me, "Rose is Jasper's sister, they run the bar together. Their dad used to own it but left it to them when he retired." This time instead of sticking her hand out to me she leaned over and gave me a quick hug. "It's nice to meet you Bella." I smiled when she stepped back, "Likewise."

"So what brings you back to the island Emmett?"

"Um, I actually need a favor from Rose," She nodded for him to continue. "Can you take this," he pulled his wallet out and gave her a card, "and Bella and get her some clothes and any other necessities she might need?" She nodded and stuck the card in her back pocket. "Dude, you didn't like kidnap her or buy her on the black market right?" I covered my mouth to stifle the chuckle that erupted from me but I figured it wasn't worth it when Emmett started laughing out loud. "No, I didn't kidnap or buy her. What the hell is wrong with you?" "Hey I'm just saying what everyone is thinking. But if you didn't then why doesn't she have any clothes?" I ran a hand through my hair pushing it back and out of my face, "I ran away from home. My dad wanted me to marry someone that I didn't even like so I ran away."

"You ran away but didn't take any clothes with you?"

She had me there; I had no answer for that and I wasn't gonna tell her 'well when I ran away I had a tail so I didn't really need clothes.' "Rose, stop she isn't on trial or anything and she certainly doesn't need to explain herself to you." She looked ashamed before she nodded and then smiled at me, "Are you ready for a shopping spree on Emmett?" She jumped up and down and clapped her hands together as she spoke. Before I had a chance to say goodbye to Emmett and Jasper she was dragging me out the door.

"OK so what exactly do you have, so we can figure out what you need?"

I stuck my arms out to the side and stood there, "This is what I have." I thought she was gonna scream but she just smiled and dragged me further into the crowd of people. I was glad that she didn't just start walking away like Emmett did but I did feel strange with her holding onto me like I was a child who would get lost. Once we got to where the stores were located she let go of me and we wondered aimlessly from store to store until she was satisfied that I had everything I would need.

By the time we got back from shopping I was exhausted and I just wanted to lay down and sleep but Rose would have none of that and took me upstairs to her apartment and helped me get cleaned up for the night. "Do you want to take a shower and get cleaned up?" I could feel the blood drain from my face and my eyes got huge but Rose had her back to me and didn't notice. "No, that's ok." "Alright then sit down and let's get started. By the time I'm done with you Emmett will be begging you to never leave him."

I sat down in the chair that she pointed to and waited for her to work her magic. She messed around with my hair for a while, twisting it and pulling until she sighed and let it all drop back down to my shoulders. "Bella, how attached are you to the length of your hair?" I looked over my shoulder to see if she was serious and I could tell that she was deathly serious. I had never thought of cutting my hair before but that was because I was underwater most of the time and it really didn't bother me. However, I did notice on the ship with Emmett that my hair does make it a lot hotter than is necessary but I don't want her to cut it all off.

"Um, I don't want it too short but I guess I could cut some of it off. Why?"

She grabbed a pair of scissors and a ruler before she came back and measured my hair. "How about I cut off about 12 inches; that way your hair ends just before your shoulders begin. Then I can give you layers and frame it around your face." I had no idea what layers meant but 12 inches seemed like a lot to cut off and I wasn't even sure that Rose was good at what she was talking about doing. "Have you ever cut someone's hair before?" She shrugged her shoulders, "All the time, I cut Jasper's hair and my best friend's at least once every two months. I promise it won't look bad and if it does I will pay to have to have someone fix it for you, deal?"

I stared at her hand as if it were on fire but decided to take a leap of faith and shook it, "Deal."

I sat in the chair for what felt like hours before she told me she was finished cutting my hair. I, of course, wanted to see it right away but she refused to let me get up and go to the mirror instead she started putting stuff on my face. I was terrified I would look like the scary lady we saw in one of the stores. Her lips were bright red with dark pink circles on her cheeks and bright blue coloring on her eyelids, she was terrifying.

I started getting antsy when she was tracing the bottom of my eye with a pencil. "If you don't stop moving I'm gonna poke your eye out." I sighed but sat still until she was done with whatever she was doing to me. When I was finally allowed to stand she threw some clothes at me and told me to get dressed. It was weird wearing a bra but at least I didn't have to ask her to help me with it, I could figure that out after seeing the model dolls at the store. It was very uncomfortable to wear but I assumed Rose knew what she was doing when she bought all of this for me.

Rose walked into the room just as I had gotten my last piece of clothing on. "Oh my god you look so sexy, Emmett is gonna flip a lid!" I wasn't sure what that saying meant but I figured by her reaction that it had to be a good thing. I just wish that the skirt Rose picked out for me was a little longer, I felt like my butt was hanging out and it didn't help that my underwear didn't cover my butt either, I think Rose called it a thing, no thong, and it was extremely uncomfortable.

"Here come look in the mirror."

I was glad that she let me wear flip flops because there was now way I would be able to walk in the shoes that she was wearing. When I got to the mirror I almost thought I was looking at another person. The girl looking back at me had chin length silky curls that surrounded a heart shaped face. The makeup she put on me made my green eyes pop out as if they were screaming 'look at me'. I was so happy that I was almost in tears but Rose jumped in and told me I couldn't cry because it would ruin my makeup. "OK I'm gonna go downstairs and let the guys know you are coming down wait a few minutes and then come down." She squealed before hugging me and running down the stairs.

I still couldn't believe that it was me in the mirror. I was so used to having long hair that I couldn't stop grabbing at the ends of my short hair and looking in the mirror thinking it was someone else looking back at me. After I was finally able to accept that it was in fact me looking back in the mirror I took a deep breath before making my move to the door and down the stairs towards the bar below.

"Rose, you didn't scare her off did you?"

"Oh will you please stop being so dramatic she just needs a minute before she comes down here."

I cleared my throat drawing everyone's attention towards myself. Even though Jasper and Rose were looking at me as well the only one I was looking at was Emmett, his reaction was the only one that mattered. He slowly stood from his stool and just stood there until Rose gave him a nudge on the shoulder towards me. It felt like he was walking in slow motion as he approached me but in reality it probably only took seconds and it just felt longer because I was afraid of what he was thinking.

When he finally reached me he still didn't say anything and I was starting to crack under the pressure of his stare. I looked down at the ground and wrapped my arms around my waist to hind myself from him but he quickly pulled my arms down and lifted my chin up sp that I was looking at him again. My chin was trembling as I waited for him to say anything and finally he spoke up. "You look, beyond beautiful. There's not a word out there that would describe how amazing you look right now." I couldn't keep the relieved sigh in or the blush that covered my face at bay. "It's all Rose she's like magic." He shook his head disagreeing with me, "No, it's all you she just gave it a little polish but the beauty was always there."

I heard a gagging sound and looked over to see Jasper sticking his finger down his throat pretending to be sick then Rose smacked him on the back of the head. "You're just jealous because you don't have a girlfriend, let alone one who looks anything close to how sexy Bella does." I couldn't hear them anymore because they were speaking in hushed tones but you could tell by their body language that they were bickering like siblings do.

I took the time to actually look around the place and noticed that there were several more people wondering about and seemed to be working really hard and getting stuff ready for the night. I wasn't paying nearly enough attention to what Emmett and Jasper were talking about until Emmett was pulling me towards the doors to leave. "Are we not staying here with Jasper and Rose?" He didn't verbally answer me but shook his head and continued to lead me out of the bar and down the road.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

We walked maybe through two intersections before he pulled me into a building that was overflowing with people and by the smells in the air it wasn't hard to understand why. We were led to a table immediately after Emmett gave the woman his name and asked for a table on the deck. I was surprised by the speed of which we got a table due to the fact that there were so many people waiting at the door for a table.

Emmett was a true gentleman and pulled my chair out for me before he sat down across from me. The table we were seated at was just big enough for the two of us and it had a perfect view of the ocean waves rolling in. I stared at it longing to be out there but that thought quickly vanished when I looked up at Emmett who was staring at me. "What are you starring at?" He reaches out and tucked my hair behind my ear, "I was just watching your eyes light up by just seeing the ocean." I sighed and leaned into his hand, which was still on my cheek, as I tilted my head to look at the ocean again.

Michelle, our waitress, came over and Emmett ordered for both of us. I wasn't sure what anything on the menu was so he assured me he would pick something I would like that wasn't meat. He ordered himself a bacon cheese burger with a beer and ordered me a black bean burger with a sweet tea.

"Tell me more about yourself Bella."

"Like what, exactly?"

"What do you do for fun? Who are your friends? Just tell me anything that will let me know who you are."

"Well I don't have very many friends back at home. I really only had Angela and Eric as friends and then there was James. We would find places to hangout, like underwater caves or, Eric's favorite, shipwrecks. You would like him; he would come up with crazy ideas of what a certain item was for. My favorite thing to do would have to be finding a place above water to just listen to the whales or watch the dolphins play; it never really bothered me to be alone. I never really felt like I belonged at home and even when I was with Angela and Eric I felt out of place because they're in love with each other, I always felt like the an intruder on their private time."

"Well didn't you ever have anyone that you dated, so that you weren't the third wheel?"

I took a sip of my drink before I decided I would give him the answer including James. "I did have a few guys who I dated once or twice but I was never really allowed to enter into a relationship with anyone, I think you call it, betrothed?" He wrinkled his forehead but nodded his head confirming that I had the correct word. "I was betrothed to James, practically from the day I was born. If I got too interested in someone either him or my dad would scare them away, not that I really thought they were the real deal, I mean I've never felt the way I do for anyone as I do for…" I looked up and caught myself before I could reveal my feelings to him but something about the smile he gave me said he already knew I meant him.

"What about you, have you ever been with someone who you thought would be _the one_?"

I quickly busied by hands by playing with my left over fries while Emmett told me all about the two serious relationships he had. One was right before his parents died and she left him because his life got too complicated after the accident and then the other was almost a year after when he started getting the funds from the firm and the insurance policies. Apparently she was the daughter of one of the lower level lawyers at the firm and she wanted to get her father a better position by dating Emmett. Once he figured this out he dropped her like a hot plate and hasn't really dated anyone seriously since.

By the time that we got through his terrible relationship history we were done with dinner and walking across the beach, away from the water's edge of course. The moon was out and full which lit up the dark night sky allowing us to see everything the city lights wouldn't reach. There were several ships out on the sea including one with lights in it that were flashing and moving. I stopped in my tracks to look at it causing Emmett, who was holding my hand, to stop. "What is that?" Emmett looked out at the ship I was pointing to and laughed. "That's this ship that a local amusement park owner has cruise the shoreline at night to get people to come to his park. He has the lights set up to look just like the park. There's the Ferris wheel, the roller coaster, the spinning swings, and if you look at the bottom you can see the bumper cars."

"It's beautiful."

"It's alright, the real thing is even better. Maybe we can go there tomorrow; I mean if you still want to stay."

I bumped my shoulder against his barely making him sway as he took a step but he placed his arm over my shoulders and pulled me against his body. I couldn't believe that just a few short days ago I was at home and I was worried about James and Daddy and now here I am on land walking and enjoying every second of it. I should feel like a fish out of water but I don't. If anything I feel like I belong here.

I hadn't noticed, or at least hadn't paid attention, to the fact that we were walking back towards the bar where Jasper and Rose were working until Emmett pulled me away from the beach towards a walkway next to the building. The music was so loud that I could feel it vibrating through my chest and we weren't even inside yet. There was a long line outside the door but just like at the restaurant Emmett was allowed to enter without even having to wait, at least this time I understood why but that didn't make the 'boos' from the long line any less intimidating.

As soon as we were through the door I had to force myself not to cover my ears. The music was so loud I thought for sure I was going to be deaf. Rose caught my attention at the bar when she waved at us. I was so excited I stared walking towards her without a second thought. I picked a seat that was off in a corner hoping it would protect me from the loud sounds but it was useless. Rose held up a finger at me so I just waited not sure when she would be able to come over to me. I understood that she is at work and cannot just drop everything to come over and talk to lonely me, which reminded me that I lost Emmett at some point after we got inside.

The music finally stopped but the ringing in but ears didn't. The man, who was singing, or rather yelling, said the name of the band and then they left the stage. It wasn't long before music was playing again but this time it was not as loud and there was no band on the stage. I was fascinated as I watched Rose talk to all of the people and get their drinks. It amazed me that she knew exactly how much and what to use in the drinks people wanted. We had absolutely nothing like this at home. You didn't even get to decide what you ate at dinner, it was always chosen by Daddy.

"Hey Bella, sorry it took so long to get over here to you. What would you like to drink, it's on the house? Wait, you are at least 21 right?"

I wasn't sure why my age mattered but I nodded. "Yeah, I don't really know anything about the drinks you're making so whatever you think I would like I'm sure would be fine." She pursed her lips at me before smiling and getting to work on my drink. It didn't take long before she was handing me a tall glass filled with ice and a white colored drink, "Try this, it's a White Russian." I took a small first sip and I was surprised at how good it tasted. "You like it?" I took a bigger sip before I placed it on the bar and nodded at Rose who smiled and said she would check on me again later and went back to giving people more drinks.

I sat there in the same spot taking my time with my drink for several long minutes before I noticed that Emmett never showed up at the bar looking for me and he was currently nowhere to be seen, at least not from my current spot. When Rose walked by I asked if she had seen him and she shook her head no and shrugged her shoulders at me.

I was about to stand up and go find him but as soon as I looked out towards the dance floor I saw him dancing with another girl. My heart immediately sunk into my stomach as I sat back down. I knew we weren't "together" I mean he obviously only helped me and kept me around because he feels sorry for me but I wish he wouldn't have continued to tell me how beautiful I am if he didn't mean it.

I quickly downed the rest of my drink and just waited, for what I had no idea. If he was going to be with this girl then I didn't want to be the pathetic girl who can't take a hint but I really had nowhere to go other than back home and that wasn't something I was ready to do. Heck he even made unofficial plans to go somewhere with me tomorrow.

Maybe I had just made up everything in my head. Maybe he only seemed attractive to me because he is the first human I have ever met and he was kind of my hero at that moment. He could have just been nice when he gave me those compliments and not meant anything by them.

"You look like you are thinking about something very hard."

I jumped when Jasper placed another tall glass in front of me but this time its contents appeared to be the same as the tea I had with dinner. I took a sip of it and it was almost the same as what I had at dinner just not quite as sweet.

"So what is occupying your thoughts over here?"

I sighed and took a big gulp of my drink before I turned towards the dance floor and nodded my head at Emmett and the girl he was with. Jasper's eyes were huge and he was avoiding making eye contact with me, "He's just dancing, it doesn't mean anything." I nodded and took another big gulp, "I know I shouldn't be upset, I mean we just met I know he doesn't care about me, like that."

Jasper placed his hand over my glass before I could lift it again and reached over to lift my chin so I was looking at him. "Bella, he may be acting like a complete jackass right now but I assure you he has feelings for you. Hell, he may not even know that he has these feelings right now but I can tell by the way he looks at you, and he brought you here to meet us and we never meet his girls."

I smiled and leaned over to kiss Jasper on the cheek before I tried to lift my glass again but he shook his head and took it away from me, "I think you should stick to water for the rest of the night, there's a lot of alcohol in a Long Island Iced Tea." I had no idea what that was but I took his advice and stuck with water, even when Rose offered to make me another white Russian.

I felt like I was torturing myself because I never stopped watching Emmett on the dance floor. He danced with several different people which made me feel a little better but there was on girl who kept coming back to dance again and again. Even though I hated the girl for dancing with Emmett, I had to admit that they were hypnotizing. Their bodies moved as if they were one and they flowed with the beat of the music. I'm sure they weren't doing anything spectacular dance wise but to me it was magical. The closest thing we had to "dancing" was when couples would swim together and it was nothing close to the wonders of what I witnessed between those two.

"Girl you need to go claim your man before she mounts him in front of everyone." Rose was leaning over the counter so she wouldn't have to yell too loud. I shook my head but kept my eyes glued on Emmett, "He's not really mine, and I don't know how to dance." I turned so that I was looking at Rose now and she placed her hand on my shoulder. "Bella, he's yours whether you two choose to acknowledge that or not, it does not change the facts that he likes you and you are clearly crazy about him."

She paused and waited for that to sink in before she bombarded me with questions about our night out. When I told her we might go the amusement park the next day she got really excited about all the things we would get to do there. She went on and on about all the rides and foods. I was just glad that she would be able to go with us, if we actually go, since tonight didn't go so well. I mean I had a great time but he's on the dance floor with other girls.

"And we will definitely have to buy some cotton candy to bring…." Rose stopped mid sentence and gasped and when I looked up to see if she was alright I couldn't help but notice the look of shock and hatred that took over her facial features. I turned so that I was able to see what she was seeing and felt like someone had ripped my heart out.

I turned completely around so that my back was to the dance floor and buried my face in my crossed arms on the bar. I fought back the burning in my eyes as long as I could but when a sob wracked through my body the tears fell freely. Rose was rubbing my shoulder trying to console me but it did no good. I knew I couldn't sit here crying so I wiped my tears away and asked if I could go up to Rose's apartment. She, being the wonderful person she is, of course allowed me to disappear up there.

I barely made it through the door before my knees went weak and I crumbled to the floor. I had never felt this kind of pain in my entire life, not even when I was stabbed. I felt like I had been betrayed and it made absolutely no sense. Logically I knew that Emmett was not attached to me at all, I was just someone he felt sorry for and that's why he helped me, but it didn't seem to compute with my heart that he didn't care.

I laid on the floor for what felt like hours but I'm sure it was just minutes before Emmett was banging on the door. "Bella please let me in. I swear that wasn't what it looked like. I mean it _was_ a kiss but she kissed me and I pushed her away as soon as I could. Please open the door so we can talk." I said nothing I just laid there letting the tears silently fall not even planning to acknowledge that I had heard a word he had said. It was possible that I misconstrued what I saw but Rose saw it too and she seemed shocked as well.

"Emmett."

"Not now Rose!"

"Emmett, I just…"

"I said not now, can't you see I'm busy trying to fix this." He banged on the door again this time even louder than before. "I was just going to tell you that the lock is broken and you don't have to knock down my door to get inside." There was a pause and I could hear them talking but they weren't being as loud as before so I couldn't make out the words.

I didn't hear anyone talking and Emmett had stopped banging on the door as I lay their on the floor and the tears finally began to stop. I tried to think of the last time I cried like this and the closest I could come was when Daddy told me I was to marry James, and even that wasn't this bad.

When I decided it was ridiculous to continue lying on the floor I sat up I almost jumped out of skin when I saw Emmett sitting there next to me. "How long have you been sitting there?" He took a deep breath before he let he's knees drop to the floor so that his legs were now crossed. "I've been sitting here for about twenty minutes." I opened my mouth to say something but Emmett beat me to it. "I'm sorry… I was stupid. When we got here and you went right over to the bar to talk to Rose I assumed you didn't want to dance, it never occurred to me that you wouldn't now how to dance. Please forgive me."

I was so shocked that he thought that I was upset about him dancing with other people and not with me. Does he really think I am that pathetic? He reached out to put his hand on my shoulder but I jerked out of his reach. "I'm not mad about you dancing with other girls." He was really shocked by this declaration. "I was fine when you danced with all of them but," I paused not sure if I wanted to admit out loud that I was jealous of him kissing that girl. "But, what?"

"YOU KISSED HER... We had dinner and walked on the beach; and you talked about going to the amusement park tomorrow and then you get here and it's like I don't even exist. Maybe I'm misreading everything but where I come from those types of actions would mean we are at least considering being a couple, if not already a couple."

I could feel my eyes starting to burn again but this time it was from embarrassment not from Emmett kissing that girl downstairs. I clenched my jaw refusing to the tears fall; I would not let him see me cry again, at least not tonight. "Bella, I didn't… I'm so…" He stopped and took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I didn't mean to make you feel like I was abandoning you tonight and when Jewels kissed me I knew that I had messed up. I was just dancing with all of those girls to have someone to dance with but I never meant to hurt you."

He reached out to push my hair behind my ear but I pulled back so I was out of his reach. "I can't, I can't do this." His hand was still hanging there in the air, "Do what?" I waved my hand between us, "This, I think I should go home." At this point the tears were blurring my sight but still hadn't fallen. "What?" I pulled my knees up to my chest and buried my hands in my hair, "I just don't think this was a good idea, we clearly are not on the same page. Not to mention we aren't even the same species." He was shaking his head, "Don't use that as an excuse. If you want to leave it's because it's what you want not because of tonight and certainly not because you're a mermaid and me a human." Emmett left that hanging in the air for a few minutes and neither of us spoke.

I finally looked up from the floor when Emmett stood and opened the door. "Do you remember where the ship is docked?" I thought about it retracing our steps from the ship to the bar before I nodded. "OK, I'm gonna go. I guess if you want to go home then this is goodbye but I _really_ hope you decide to stay because you aren't misreading anything; I do like you, even if I am terrible at showing." He paused and gave me a half smile before he walked out and closed the door behind him leaving me to think over whether or not I wanted to leave or stay here.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

After Emmett left the tears fell freely and I couldn't even think about leaving or staying because I was such a mess. I don't remember what happened after I lied back down on the floor but apparently I fell asleep. I woke up with my head pounding and my mouth was beyond dry. When I sat up I half expected my head to explode and I looked around to notice that someone had moved me from the floor in front of Rose's door to her couch and had placed a tall glass of water on the coffee table. I quickly drank the entire glass before standing to go refill it in the kitchen.

"It's nice to see you're finally awake."

I groaned at Rose who was cooking something that made my mouth water. I smiled at her as I filled the glass with more water. "Thanks for not leaving me on the floor last night." She shrugged, "I made Jasper come move you before he went to bed. After the terrible night you had I figured you wouldn't need back and neck pain today on top of it all." I took a sip of my water just as she turned around with two plates in her hands and handed one to me.

"Do you like syrup or powdered sugar on your pancakes?"

Since I had never had pancakes before I was clueless as to what I would like on them, "Whichever you like is fine." She followed me to the table and sat down, "Syrup it is then." We were both silent as we ate our breakfast I was thankful that she wasn't grilling me about what happened last night. I didn't even know if anyone had let Emmett know that I had spent the night here instead of leaving like I had threatened to last night, in hindsight that was a really bad idea. If anyone should understand that giving ultimatums makes a situation worse it should be me. I needed to go and talk to him now that we both have had time to calm down and think about this situation we have found ourselves in.

After we were done eating I tried to help Rose clean but she told me to go get cleaned up and get ready for the day. Once I was in the bathroom I realized that I wouldn't be able to wash up completely but I knew that eventually that would be something I would need to do. So I compromised with just washing my face and changed my clothes so that I could go see Emmett and figure out what we were going to do.

Rose was washing the dishes and dancing at the sink when I came out of the bathroom. When I cleared my throat she stopped and turned to look at me. "If its ok I'm just gonna leave my stuff here and go talk to Emmett. We need to talk and I doubt me bringing all of my clothes will help that situation any." She nodded and threw a towel on the counter. "Of course it's ok, now go talk to him. If I know Emmett he is probably on the boat right now sulking." I smiled and quickly headed towards the door.

The sun was already high in the sky but the slight breeze kept the heat from being unbearable. There were loads of people out and about going about their day not even paying me any attention. I never thought that I would be able to walk among the humans and they wouldn't be able to tell what I really am. I never would have been brave enough to do this a few days ago. Daddy had always told us horror stories about merpeople who would dare to go ashore and they would never return because the humans captured them. Now I realize this was just another story of his to try and keep all of us afraid of humans.

I watched as people went and did all sorts of things. There was the little boy playing with toys on the sidewalk, the younger gentleman who was carrying an elderly woman's groceries as they crossed the street, and there was a group of guys, around Emmett's age, who were carrying fishing supplies towards the pier.

The group of guys stopped at a boat that was docked a few boats before Emmett's, all but two of them climbed aboard with the supplies while the remaining two waited on the dock. I moved so that I was on the opposite side of the dock as I walked by and kept my head down. "DAMN! Jacob, would you look at that ass." My steps faltered since he was clearly talking about me as I was the only person, let alone woman, on the dock other than them.

"Yeah I would love to have my way with that ass."

This man's voice was either louder or closer than the one before and it struck fear into my heart. I took a deep breath and quickened my pace not bothering to look back at the two repulsive men. Once I was at the Emmett's boat I climbed aboard and sat down behind the ledge hiding from the eyes that I still felt lingering on me. My hands were shaking so bad that I had to keep them close to my chest to get them to be still.

I heard the creak of the stairs coming up from below deck and looked up to see the sad face of Emmett. He didn't notice me right away but when I called out his name his beautiful smile spread across his face erasing any of the sadness I had seen before. "I'm so glad that you didn't leave." It took him a minute to realize that I was sitting down on the floor, "What are you doing down there?" I stood up slowly looking over my shoulder to find that the creepy guys had boarded their ship and were now gone.

"Hey what's wrong?"

I jumped a little when he placed his hand on my shoulder drawing my attention back to him. "Nothing." He wrinkled his forehead not believing me but he left it alone. "So are you here to say goodbye?" The glow that was back in his eyes left when he talked about me leaving. "Actually I was hoping we could maybe go to that amusement park we talked about last night?" The light immediately came back and so did his beautiful smile. "So you're not leaving?" I grabbed his hand, "Last night you said you didn't want me to leave and I really don't want to leave, so as long as you still feel that way I would like to stay."

Emmett took a step closer to me leaving mere inches between us before his lifted my chin with his free hand. "Of course I still feel that way. I meant what I said last night; I want to give this thing between us chance to become something amazing." He slowly leaned down towards me, "Have you ever been kissed before?" My breathing increased as my heart raced. I had been kissed on the cheek by a few people and James tried to kiss me on the lips but I turned my head so he got my cheek instead. I slowly shook my head confirming to Emmett that I have never actually been kissed. The hand that was on my chin carefully slid back cupping my jaw just under my ear. He leaned in until he was at my other ear and whispered, "I've wanted to do this since the moment your beautiful brown eyes pierced my soul."

My body shivered on its own accord when I felt the warmth of his breath on the juncture of my neck I looked into Emmett's eyes just in time to see lips come crashing down on my own. My heart was pounding out of my chest and my eyes closed as he massaged his lips against my own and his hand threaded itself in my hair pulling me flush against his body. I felt burning tingles travel through my body radiating from every point of connection I had with Emmett. I anchored myself to him as I wrapped my hands around him and attempted to tangle my hand in the hairs at the base of his neck.

Emmett sucked on my bottom lip causing a small moan to break out of me just before he pulled away but only enough so that he could lean his forehead against my own. My knees were shaking and I knew if he pulled away from me right now I would not able to hold myself up on my own. Emmett's breathing was almost as erratic as my own which made me think that I at least had the same effect on him that he had on me.

"So you ready to go to the amusement park?" I giggled and nodded.

On our way to the park we stopped and asked Jasper and Rose if they would care to join us and they both quickly agreed. Jasper said that the stock boys could handle getting the bar ready for the night while we were out enjoying the day. Emmett hadn't let go of my hand since we got off the ship and I didn't miss Rose giving me a questioning glance after she stared at our hands for a second. I just smiled and nodded at her and she left it at that until we were waiting in line to get into the park.

Emmett was still holding my hand but he was talking to Jasper so Rose took this opportunity to get some answers out of me. "So, what happened? It looks like you guys got everything figured out." I just smiled, "Other than him telling me that he really didn't want me to leave and that he wanted to give us a try that's all that was said before…" I blushed not sure if I should tell Rose about the kiss but I needed to tell someone and she was the closest thing I had to a friend here. "Before what?" I looked at the guys making sure they weren't listening to us, "His kissed me! It was amazing, I could feel the kiss all the way in my toes and I felt this heat spread throughout my whole body." She didn't saying anything but just smiled at me.

Once we were inside the park I was overwhelmed with everything that was there. So many people were packed into the area and everything was very loud. "What should we do first?" Jasper looked so excited that he could have easily been mistaken for an eager child. "Since this is Bella's first time here I think we should take it slow. How about we head to the back of the park and work our way to the front and catch every ride on the way." I became very nervous as we passed several rides. There were small ones that stayed on the ground, ones that went way too high in the sky, and even one that went down into the ground. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to handle all of this but with Emmett with me I would at least give it a try.

At the back of the park there were a few rides; Emmett and Jasper insisted we ride the bumper cars first. Emmett told me that it was a mild ride and it would get me more prepared for the bigger roller coasters, whatever that was. Jasper and Rose got into their own car but Emmett wouldn't let go of my hand, not that I was complaining. He did however let me drive which was a real experience; Emmett said he would never let me get my driver license, whatever that is. Jasper and Rose teamed up against us and if one of them wasn't ramming into us then the other was.

"That was awesome! Bella you suck at driving, if I ever see you driving a car I will definitely be getting off the road."

I groaned and Emmett put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him before kissing my forehead. "Come on lets go ride something good!" Rose had caught the same bug that Jasper had earlier and was bouncing were she stood to go get on another ride. I stopped dead in my tracks when we started heading towards a huge ride. "Emmett, I can't ride that." He waved at Jasper and Rose and told them to go ahead that we would be right there. "Bella, I promise you will love it." Just as he said that I saw the cart on the ride drop down the biggest hill and everyone was screaming the entire way down.

"That doesn't sound like they are having fun."

"How about this, you ride this one ride with me and if you don't like it then no more rides. I would never do anything that would harm you. Do you trust me?"

I looked up at the intimidating ride before looking back at him and nodded that I did trust him. The line for the ride wasn't too long but the entire time I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. My palms were sweating and I felt like I had a million little fish swimming in my stomach. "Are you ok?" I took a deep breath before I nodded and leaned back into Emmett's chest.

Before I knew it we were next in line and the young worker was helping load us onto the cart, or train as they called it. Emmett reached across me and helped me put on my seat belt just before the worker came around and to push the lap bar down. I jerked my knee away when his hand skimmed me and when I looked up at him he winked at me. I shivered and Emmett wrapped his arm around me as he spoke to the worker, "I would really suggest that you keep you disgusting hands to yourself." I had never heard the tone in which Emmett was speaking and if I would have been on the receiving end of it I would be scared for my life.

The worker quickly turned whiter than a sheet and quickly moved on. "I can't believe the nerve of some people." Jasper patted him on the shoulder from the seat behind us. "Dude you're dating a fox you better get used to guys hitting on her in any way they can." I kissed his cheek and he moved his arm from my shoulders to hold my hand as the train started moving. My breathing picked up as we started to climb the hill and I squeezed the life out of Emmett's hand. "I'm scared." He squeezed my hand back, "Just close your eyes and scream, trust me it helps."

He was right, of course, once we dropped off the top of the hill I screamed so loud that I thought I would never be able to talk again but by the end of it I was laughing my head off and wanted to ride it again. After that successful ride I was willing to try each ride at least once; well except for the water ride.

There was one ride called Wild Rapids. Jasper kept telling me about every ride before I would get on them. "So basically you are sitting in a small boat and they have set up trees and things for you to look at and then in the end it goes from a peaceful calm ride to a terrifying waterfall. It is the best ride especially on a hot day like today, everyone gets soaked." I looked over my shoulder at Emmett who looked as concerned as I felt.

"Guys maybe we should skip this ride, I mean look how long the line is. Everyone seems to want to ride it to cool down."

Rose looked at Emmett like he was crazy, "Duh! That's why we want to ride it too. You can't tell me your willing to miss out on this just because the line it too long. It's no longer than any other line we have waited in this entire day." Emmett was about to speak but I beat him to it. "Just go ride the ride I will just wait here for you guys to get back."

"Why would you wait here, just ride with us."

I didn't answer Rose but just nodded for Emmett to go wait in line with them. He seemed torn like he wanted to go have fun with his friends but didn't want to leave me alone either. "Go! O promise I will be right here when you get back. I won't have you missing out on fun because of me." He leaned down and kissed my cheek before handing me his cell phone that I hadn't figured out yet.

I sat there doing nothing but watching people walk by. Before I met Emmett I could understand my dad saying how terrible humans are but that was when they were monsters in a cave that I had never met them. Now, walking among them and seeing how they interact I couldn't fathom that the horror stories I've been told are anything but lies. Looking at the mother and father who are enjoying a day in the sun with their daughter erases the story about the human who ate their own children just to prove that they were in charge.

If Emmett wouldn't have been enough proof to me that humans, as a species, aren't all evil then seeing these happy families interact with each other would surely have gotten rid of any of my doubt. You could see it in the parents eyes the unconditional love that they had for each other and their daughter. I was so caught up in watching all of people passing me that I didn't even notice when Emmett had gotten off the ride and came over to get me.

"You alright?"

I leaned back so I could look up at him and smiled, "I'm great." My smile grew tenfold when I noticed he had removed his shirt that was now soaking wet. "I'm just enjoying the view." He held his hand out for me and helped me stand from the bench I was sitting on.

We spent the rest of day re-riding rides and eating way too much junk food. Every time we passed a vendor Emmett was stopping to buy something else that I _just had to try_. I thought the day couldn't be any more fun until it got dark and then all the rides were covered in lights and it was just like the boat we saw out on the ocean.

Emmett insisted that we ride the Ferris wheel even though Rose and Jasper refused saying it too much of a couples ride for them to ride it together. The ride was the best of the whole day. When we stopped at the top I could see all the way to a neighboring island. The ocean was so beautiful. If Emmett wouldn't have been in the view I would have surely been homesick but that was nearly impossible when I was with him. Just before we started moving again he leaned in and gave me a tender and loving kiss.

Jasper was right about the ride being a couple's thing, I'm pretty sure that everyone on the ride kissed their riding buddy at least once. Jasper and Rose were no longer where we left them when we got off the ride so we walked around until we found the two playing different games. Jasper was throwing a ball through a net that had a hole in the bottom of it. The man at that game was counting out the number of times he got the ball through the net. The timer buzzed and he had gotten the ball through it 15 times which was enough to get a free ball to take home.

Rose was at another booth where she was shooting water at a target and the balloon above it was filling up. The music they played as this game went on was really fast paced and the worker was talking so quickly I could hardly hear what he was saying. It seemed like Rose's balloon was going to pop at any moment but the kid next her was the winner and she got a cute dolphin toy. Rose handed the guy more money and sat down to play again.

I was happy just watching the balloon race but Emmett pulled me further down the line of games until we came to a game called _Ladder Climb_. It looked really hard and everyone who was trying it kept falling into the fake ocean below. "You want to give it a try?" I jerked my head in Emmett's direction, "You're joking right?" He looked at me as if he was dead serious, "Emmett I can hardly walk on solid ground; I hardly doubt I can climb on swinging ropes." He smiled and started to laugh, "I was just kidding, here can you hold my stuff while I do this." He handed me his phone and wallet and I pushed his shoulder as he walked away from me towards the man trying to attract people to the game.

Emmett took time to look at all of the ladders before he decided on the one he liked the best. He slowly took his time getting a position he liked and moved his left hand and right leg on to the next rope. Once he was stable in the position he then moved the other two limbs to join the ones he had just moved. "He's good at this game." I jumped when Jasper and Rose snuck up on me, "He really is; I used to pay for him to play so he could win me a big stuffed animal all the time."

"It looks we have one that's gonna go all the way folks, see this game is just that easy."

I looked over at Emmett just in time to see him hit the buzzer at the top and jump down off of it. I was so happy that I clapped and would have been jumping up and down if Jasper wasn't leaning against my shoulder. Emmett went over and collected his prize from the worker and came back and traded me the huge stuffed animal, almost as tall as me, for his phone and wallet. When I tried to hand it back to me he said, "I won that for you." My cheeks burned and I couldn't keep the smile off of my face. I looked at the tag on the bear and smiled when I read it. The bear was called a _Care Bear _and its name is _Ocean friend Bear_. Tears stung my eyes and I couldn't help but lean in and kiss his cheek.

Emmett threw his arm over my shoulder as we walked towards the exit. "Rose, you didn't win anything at the balloon race?" She smiled as she pulled out a small piece of paper, "Well not technically but I think his digits are a nice consolation prize." Jasper groaned, "Why is my sister such a slut?" Aggravated Rose threw a punch at Jasper who ducked just in time so all she got was air. "Don't hate me 'cause I speak the truth." Jasper was now hiding behind me and Emmett while Rose gave him the stink eye from in front of us. I swear if I didn't know any better I would have thought they were children not grown-ups.

I tried to fight back the yawn that escaped but it was a pointless effort. I laid my head against Emmett as we walked and I never felt more at home than I did in that moment. Emmett led me over to a bench where he pulled me down to sit on his lap. A smile spread across my face and I was almost asleep when I loud bang in the air erased all thoughts of sleep from my body.

The colors in the sky were amazing. "Fireworks, they have them every night when the park closes." Even thought the sound made me jump every time one would go off I still couldn't bear to look away from them. Each one was more beautiful than the one before it. Emmett kept his arms wrapped around my waist to keep me from jumping out of my skin every time there was a boom.

"Guys we are gonna head back to the bar. You should stop by later."

I could barely hear Jasper over the fireworks and music but I tore myself away from the fireworks long enough for me to wave goodbye to him and Rose who seemed to still be picking at each other.

The sky erupted into nonstop bangs as several fireworks went off all at once. It was so loud I almost had to cover my ears. I turned my head when I heard Emmett chuckling from behind me. "You look so cute waiting on edge for more fireworks. Almost like a child experiencing something new." I wrapped my arms around his neck, "You forget that all of this is new to me. I've never been out of the water let alone been shopping for clothes, riding roller coasters, talking to humans, or even seeing fireworks. All of this feels so weird, but right at the same time." I leaned until our lips were barely separated and waited less than a second before Emmett closed that gap.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

I was so tired when we left the amusement park that Emmett had to call a cab to come and get us. I couldn't even stay awake long enough to get to the docks which I guess means Emmett carried me from the road to his ship since I woke in his bed. He was already moving about by the time I woke up. With all of my clothes being at Rose's place I was stuck in the clothes that I had worn all day yesterday.

Emmett and Jasper were sitting at the table going over some idea they came up with yesterday for some festival that was coming up in a few weeks. "Hey, look who is finally joining the world of the living." My forehead wrinkled in confusion at Jasper as Emmett reached out towards me and pulled me down onto his lap. "Ignore him. You needed to sleep you were exhausted from the amusement park." I kissed him quickly before reaching over and taking his glass of juice from his hand.

"So what are you guys going to be doing all day?"

"Jasper and I are figuring out the details for the tiki bar for the festival. As soon as we get everything planned out we will start putting it together. You can help if you like but I doubt it will be much fun for you."

I shrugged and stood, "Actually I was gonna go find Rose. She said we could hangout this afternoon until she needs to start working in the bar. So, you boys have a good time doing whatever it is that your doing and I will see you both later."

"Wait, take this in case you girls go anywhere." He handed me the same card he had given Rose two days ago to take me shopping. "Emmett I don't think I should take this." Wrapping his arm around my hips he pulled me back towards him, "I would feel better if you took it, even if you don't use it." Knowing that I wasn't gonna win this argument I sighed and tucked the card in my pocket before giving him one last kiss and leaving him and Jasper to their own devices.

Rose was still hanging out in her apartment wearing her pajamas which made me feel much better about sleeping in so late, if I would have been at home I would have already missed half the day and Daddy would have scolded me for doing so. "So I am gonna change clothes real fast and then we can figure out what we want to do today. I was thinking maybe a little bit of pampering I have a friend who owes me some favors so I am going to collect by treating us to manicures and pedicures." She seemed so excited that I wasn't able to keep the smile off of my face. "OK, I left my clothes here so I need to change too and then we can get out of here."

Before long we were both out of the apartment and sitting at a beauty salon waiting to get our nails done. I wasn't sure what that entailed but I was just happy to be doing something new and exciting.

"Rose I am so glad to see you!"

Beautiful didn't describe the red haired woman that came out of the back room and gave Rose a hug. "I know it has been so long since we have gotten together. Victoria this is my friend Bella, Bella this is Victoria. She owns this place." Cautiously I shook Victoria's extended hand before speaking, "It's nice to meet you Victoria." I received a small but genuine smile in return. "OK well you ladies follow me. I thought we would start with your manicures and then finish off with the pedicures."

Rose was sitting at a table right next to me and we were able to talk the entire time the ladies were working on our nails. "I need details about how you and Emmett met. I all I know about you is that you ran away from home and Emmett helped you. Tell me everything about how you met and tell me even more about yourself."

There was no way I could tell Rose all that she would want to know about my life and I knew that she wouldn't stop asking until she got the details she wanted. One slip and I could put my entire species in danger and no matter how much I want to be friends with Rose there's no way I could risk that.

"There's really not much to tell. We sort of bumped into one another, literally. I tripped and hurt my foot and Emmett helped take care of me. As an apology Emmett took me out on a date and when my dad found out he freaked. I couldn't handle it anymore so I told Emmett I was going run away. He offered to help me and here we are."

"That sound like Emmett. He is always the hero. I think it has something to do with his parent's accident. He was so torn up when they both died. He would blame himself and say if only he had been there then he could have saved them. It took him awhile to get over his parents and realize that no matter if he had been there or not he couldn't have saved them. He's different with you, happier. I can tell that he cares about you far more than anyone else he has ever been with you."

She made me smile and blush until I felt like the blood in my cheeks was boiling. "OK ladies, we are finished with your finger nails lets move onto your toes. If you two move over to the foot bath tubs we will soak your feet and then get those painted." I slowly followed Rose over towards the tubs panicking the entire way. If I put my feet in the water I would have a tail in no time flat. Not to mention that my toenails are the color of my tail and there is no way to change that. Rose sat down in her chair and looked to me waiting for me to sit in the seat next to her.

"You know, I don't think I'm going to get my toes done." She wrinkled her forehead in confusion, "I have a pretty big cut on my foot and I painted them not too long ago." "Are you sure? It's totally on me so don't worry about the cost." I shook my head, "No, it's nothing like that. I just don't want to risk getting it infected." Before she was able to put her feet in the tub she stood, "OK then we can just go." "No I didn't mean for you to not get yours done." She shook her head, "Don't worry about it."

By the time that we left the salon and got something to eat the workers started arriving at the bar and Rose had to help out. I tried to help as much as I could but I was just getting in the way since I knew nothing about how a bar works.

"Great!" Rose groaned and slammed the phone down on the hook. "Everything OK?" She poured herself a small glass of something brown and quickly downed it and then poured herself another. "Yeah, just one of our waitresses just called in sick and we are already two people short so that means I will be doing the job of four people tonight instead of just my one." After she downed her second drink I took the bottle from her before she could pour another. "Maybe I can help. I mean I've never done anything like this but I'm sure I can figure it out."

She just stared at me as if calculating in her head if I was serious or not. Obviously I knew this would be very difficult but I considered Rose a friend and this is the type of thing a friend would do. "If you're sure it's not over stepping and you think you can handle it that would be awesome." I quickly nodded my head, "Just tell me what you need me to do and consider it done."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Rose showed me the basics on how to take an order and which tables I would be responsible for. Since I am clearly not an expert on being a waitress Rose took the standard eight tables I should have had and cut it down to four giving all the others one table extra. "OK since your just filling in here is a list of all the alcohol we have and our specialty list. If you need anything at all Jasper will be behind the bar and can answer anything or just grab one of the other workers and ask them."

Rose handed me the same shirt that everyone else was wearing and a black half apron with a pen and pad of paper in it. I put the two lists Rose gave me in my empty pocket and quickly went to change my shirt.

I stopped in my tracks when I came out of the bathroom and saw Emmett sitting at the bar. I quietly snuck up behind him and placed my hands over his eyes. "Guess who?" He grabbed my wrist and turned pulling me between his knees. Before I could even wrap my mind around what had happened he had his lips on mine causing me to moan. A throat clearing caused us to come out of our lip lock making me blush. "I hear you are going to be filling in for Stacey?" I couldn't muster up my voice so I just nodded at Jasper, "Well, you can't be any worse than she is."

"Yeah, I don't think Rose will give every hot guy free drinks all night long. At least she better not." Emmett wrapped his arms around me anchoring me to his chest. I felt more at home being held by him than I ever have in my actual home. "OK that's enough you two. We will be opening soon and I need Bella concentrating on the task at hand and not on you Emmett."

I gave Emmett one last kiss as Jasper went to open the door and tons of people came pouring in. Immediately music started playing from the DJ booth in the corner of the dance floor and the longest night of my life started.

Thankfully most of the people who walked through the door when we opened went straight for the bar to get their first drink. Those who did find a table quickly claimed the booths were they could sit to relax and I only had to cover the standing tables.

I was able to hangout with Emmett for a half an hour before people who were dancing decided they wanted to claim one of my tables. Being a waitress was a lot harder than I initial thought it would be. I thought it would just be as easy as taking there orders and bringing it back to them, but with all that was going on in the bar it was impossible. I would take an order and barely be able to hear them over the music. Once I took the order of drinks to the wrong table, and I could never remember who ordered what drink.

I felt like my head was floating three feet above me and I was caught in a whirlpool and can't escape the current. How Rose is able to keep it all straight is beyond me. Thankfully it seemed that the night was slowing down as Jasper yelled out last call. I followed the lead of the other waiters and went to my tables to see if they wanted anything else before we closed. I only had two tables with customer still hanging around.

The first table I went to had two drunk guys and I am assuming their girlfriends. When I asked if they wanted anything else the girls both said no even though the guys slurred that they did. I took their money and smiled when the girls told me to keep the change leaving me a $20 tip.

My last table was a group of guys who got all their drinks from the bar allowing me to avoid them until this moment. When I approached the table and could actually make out the people who were sitting there I realized it was the same group of guys from the docks. I kept my eyes down and tried to be quick about asking if they needed anything else but my luck for the night must have ran out.

The man I remember as Jacob leaned back and looked me up and down. "I know you. You're that girl from the docks the other day. I saw you get on Emmett McCarty's ship right?" I lifted me head and looked at him before I nodded not sure where this conversation was gonna go. He grabbed what was left of his beer and downed it before he stood and got entirely too close to me. "Well," I shivered as his slid his hand down from my shoulder to my elbow, "when you want to be with a real man you come to me." When he grabbed my wrist and started pulling on it I jerked away from him just in time to see Emmett right beside us.

"Is there a problem here Bella?"

I took a step closer to him putting some distance between me and Jacob. "No, the guys were just leaving." Jacob turned to face Emmett, "Yeah Emmett we were just leaving, and Bella you remember what I told you." This time I stepped so that I was behind Emmett's shoulder and not getting the full force of Jacob's stare.

When I looked back at the bar both Rose and Jasper were giving Jacob the same glare that Emmett was giving him and all three followed him until he and his friends were out of the doors. Emmett was breathing so hard that he almost seemed to be shaking. When I put my hand on his shoulder it was like I had broken a trance and he realized where he was and who he was with. I have never seen someone act that way and it was a little frightening to see.

The last of the customers scurried out of the bar and the bouncer locked the doors just as everyone else started to clean. Emmett still stood there but this time he was looking at me and not burning a hole with his eyes. "Has that guy ever said anything to you before?" I shrugged my shoulders not sure if I wanted to add to what is clearly bad blood. "Not directly to me." He raised his eyebrows waiting for an explanation. "When I came to you the other morning he and his friends were getting on their boat and they made some comments about me as I walked by."

He clenched his first and took a deep breath. "You need to stay away from him. He is bad news. He is the guy on the island that no one wants to mess with. He has fingers in everything illegal but never gets caught by the cops. Please just stay away from him." I nodded and pulled him to me for a hug that we both clearly needed to be able to relax after that altercation.

"Alright let me go make sure I have done everything I needed to do for the night and then we can go. I am beyond tired and my feet are killing me." A small kiss to my forehead was the only response I got but it said a lot to me.

Everything seemed to be good with all of my bills, which was a miracle. Jasper said I could have a job if I wanted one but being a waitress didn't seem to be a good job for me so I politely turned him down. Rose and I made plans to hangout at the beach tomorrow apparently we both were in desperate need of a tan. Emmett and Jasper were going to join us as well as the guy from the amusement park who gave Rose his phone number.

I was so tired I thought Emmett was gonna have to carry me again but I was thankfully able to make back on my own but as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out. I barely remember Emmett crawling on the bed and pulling me close to him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

I was wide awake before Emmett and took advantage of the private time and tried to figure out how to get clean. Obviously taking a shower or bath was out of the question but there was no way I could go without one. In the end I just used a wet towel to wipe myself down. It would have to do until I could get into the ocean and get completely wet, which I wasn't sure when that would happen.

I could smell food being cooked when I was finishing up with my makeshift bath and it made me wish I had thought of making food instead of getting clean. My stomach growled and my mouth water at the aroma. I stopped in my tracks at Emmett cooking in nothing more than his boxers which just made me hungry but in a different way. I stood and watched him for a while just enjoying the view and what a view it was.

"It's rude to stare."

I knew he was right but honestly what woman would be able to resist. When I got to the counter where he was working he leaned down and gave me a sweet and simple kiss. "Did you sleep well?" I nodded, "Yeah, I was so tired from working last night. I can't believe how hard it was." He went back to cooking, "Well you must have done a good job or else Jasper wouldn't have offered you a job." I shrugged my shoulders as he hand fed me a piece of fruit.

"OK let's eat breakfast then I have to take a shower before we head to the beach."

I was so taken back by the beauty of the beach I had to take a moment to just stare at it. Being banned from the shore lines it was rare for me to see the waves roll into the shore. Add that to the families playing in the water, people sun bathing, and Emmett topless I was in heaven. "Bella, over here!"

Practically running, I hurried over to Rose who was lying out on her towel that was between mine and Brad, the guy from the amusement park. "Jasper forgot the umbrella so he ran back to the bar. Oh you two look so cute in your matching bathing suits."

I hadn't even noticed that Emmett and I matched until Rose mentioned it but she was right we were cute. My navy and white sailor bikini, that Rose said was a _must buy_, matched Emmett's navy and white striped shorts. I would have sworn that Rose planned it for us to match if it wouldn't have been that she was not there when we got dressed this morning.

"All right, there is your stupid umbrella Rose. I hope you are happy even though I know you will sit out in the sun all day anyways." Jasper looked run down and the day had just started. Cold water splashed on my leg when Emmett tossed him a cold bottle of water, "Here ya go man." Quickly I wiped it away and hoped that no one saw the instant change in color on my leg. "Thanks," he drank nearly the whole bottle before he stopped to take a breath, "alright there are some guys a little further down the beach setting up a volley ball net. Who's up for playing?"

Brad was instantly ready to play volley ball which meant that Rose was in as long as her hair didn't get too messed up. Emmett wasn't as excited as Jasper was but he agreed to play the game. When all eyes fell on me waiting for my answer I didn't say anything. I had no clue what this game entailed let alone if I would be able to actually play it. "I've never played before but, why not. I'm in."

"GREAT! I'll go tell them that we are gonna play against them while you guys move our stuff that way."

Rose groaned as she re-packed all of her stuff so that we could move and I was very glad that Emmett and I had not been able to get settled in or else I would have been groaning too.

Rose and Brad were in their own little world as we walked down the beach towards the volley ball net. "So what is this Volley Ball thing and how do I play?" Emmett turned to walk backwards so that he could still face me while he spoke, "Basically there will be a net between the two teams and the object of the game is to keep the ball in the air by smacking it with your hand and arms and cause the other team to miss it gaining us a point." From the way he described it sounded like a fairly simple game, but I figured there had to be a catch of some sort.

"Oh my God, look its dolphins!"

I stopped and looked out at the sea wanting to see one of my favorite animals in action from above and dropped my bag I was carrying. There mixed in with the dolphins were merpeople. We were never allowed to come this close to shore for this very reason but at this distance if you didn't know what to look for you would assume it was just a large group of dolphins. I knew why they were allowed to be this close but I was still shocked to see them.

"I would think that you wouldn't be so captivated by dolphins?"

I smiled but couldn't take my eyes off the sight as I answered Emmett, "I've never really seen then from this point of view." I didn't mention that in the middle of the dolphins were merpeople most assuredly looking for me. "Are you guys coming or what?"

Emmett grabbed my arm and pulled me away towards Jasper who already had everything waiting for us by the net. Since we were evenly split five on each side no one picked teams and we just battled it out on the court.

I was terrible at the game and so was Rose so the guys tried to field our playing area but it was impossible for us to not have to get involved. Once the ball flew straight towards my face and I just batted it away smacking Brad in the face with the ball. Jasper was able to keep the ball in the air and get it back over the net and gaining us a point when it hit the ground but Brad had a broken nose.

I apologized profusely but he just shrugged it off. I cringed when he grabbed it in both hands and cracked it back in place. Rose offered to take him to the hospital but he refused and just sat on the sidelines while we finished that game.

By some miracle we came out on top, barely, but the guys were very happy that we had won. One of the guys on the other team was very upset about loosing and he threw the ball and almost hit me but I stepped to the side just in time to have it miss me. I tried to get the ball and almost made the mistake of running full throttle into the water. I stopped at the edge where the waves missed my toes by a hair.

I could hear Jasper calling out to me to get the ball but there was no way I could do that. The ball was less than four feet in front of me but given the circumstances it might as well have been two miles away. "Why didn't you grab the ball?" I had to step back as he splashed his way through the water to get the ball.

"Oh my God, you're afraid of the water!"

"I'm not afraid of the water I just don't want to get wet."

It was a stupid respond but I couldn't exactly think of anything else to say, thankfully Emmett stepped in and ran full speed into Jasper knocking him further into the water. I took several steps back and was able to avoid the splash zone. I figured the safest place to watch the guys play was from the safety of the dry towels.

"How is Brad's nose?"

He was holding a cold bottle of water to the bridge of his nose but it didn't look as thought it was swelling. I guess he knew what he was doing when cracked it back into place. "He's fine right now. It will probably be huge in the morning but as long as he keeps putting cold stuff on it, it shouldn't be too bad."

"I'M GONNA GET YOU!"

Rose squealed and I threw Emmett's towel over me trying to avoid Jasper's water attack. "Jazz I swear to God if you get my hair wet." Rose took the words right out of my mind except I was thinking about my legs. If my tail popped out right here I would be screwed. Emmett was there to jump in front of me just before Jasper threw the bucket of water at Rose and me but he wasn't able to block it all.

My entire lap was now the top part of my tail. I tried to cover it with the towel before anyone could notice it. "What was that?" Everyone looked at Rose waiting to see what she was talking about. I dried my lap with the towel as quickly and inconspicuously as possible. "I thought I saw something shiny and blue on Bella's lap." I pretending to look around me acting as if I had no idea what she was talking about and carefully lifted the towel from my lap happy that I was now dry and not sporting a partial tail. "I don't see anything." She looked confused but shrugged, "Maybe it was just the light reflecting off the water in my eye line." I could see Emmett relax which made me relax.

"I think you have been out in the sun too long today."

Rose threw her, now soaked, towel at Jasper hitting him right in face. "Fine then you can carry all the stuff back by yourself." I took a deep relaxing breath after she left and Jasper went to work at gathering all of their belongings. Emmett turned to look at me and wiped some water off of his forehead before mouthing _that was close._ I took another deep breath and nodded.

Jasper finally got everything gathered and headed back to the bar to get cleaned up before it opened. Emmett promised we would make an appearance at some point but we stayed at the beach for a while. It was nice to just sit there and do nothing after the exhausting game of Volley Ball. The sound of waves crashing in was almost enough to lull me to sleep. Just as my eyes started to close Emmett decided it was time to go get dinner.

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><p>Last update for a little while. Reviews are always appreciated<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

**1 month later**

Life on the island isn't too different from life back at home. After the excitement of living in a new place and getting used to being with humans life seems almost routine. With Emmett and me officially dating we decided it was best that we start things off right and not live together. He of course continued to stay on his boat and Rose was nice enough to let me move in with her and Jasper never found a new waitress so I helped out when he really needed it.

Emmett wasn't too happy that I spent so much time around the bar with drunk guys everywhere but Rose and I convinced him nothing was going to happen as long as we stuck together. It also helped that whenever I worked Emmett refused to leave. The only person who had ever caused any problems was Jacob and his group of idiots. Last week when they came in and gave me hard time I "tripped" and spilt an entire tray of drinks on them. That stunt may have cost me two tables worth of tips but at least I got rid of the guys and was able to get Emmett's stress level down.

Of course this was not enough to keep them away forever but they did get the hint and left me alone from then on. Talking to Rose about them explained a lot. Apparently, Jacob and Emmett have been enemies for a long time and he would do anything to piss Emmett off; which included hitting on me. Before I came around he was always messing with her which got Jasper on his bad side.

It made me feel a lot better that it wasn't anything personal towards me but it really annoyed me that it was personal against Emmett. I took every opportunity to make their experience at the bar unpleasant. When it came to getting a tip from them I just didn't care.

Over the month I had missed being in the water countless times. We would spend time at the beach and it killed me that I could not join everyone in the water. Emmett would arrange during the day for us to go out alone on the boat so that I could have freedom in the water. One time a coast guard boat showed up while we were swimming and Emmett had to chase them away. He got in trouble for diving alone but it was just a verbal warning. This week however all of us would be going out on the boat.

There had been an incident at the bar and two guys got into a fight and put a huge hole in the wall, so Jasper and Rose had to close down until the wall was fixed so we had a couple of days were we could do whatever we wanted. It was decided that we would go out on the boat. The guys would go fishing and Rose and I would just lie around getting sun tanned.

We had a great time the first night. The guys cooked the fish on the grill for everyone and Emmett made me a salad. We finished off 2 bottles of wine and I learned that wine goes straight to my head. I may not be considered a light weight when it comes to beer or liquor but apparently wine is a whole different animal.

The last thing I remember of the night was Emmett letting me lean on his shoulder as they reminisced about the old days. I learned more about Emmett's past love life than I ever thought I would know. Rose told me about every girl from his first kiss at age 5 up to me.

When I woke I had a massive headache and felt like death. I groaned when the boat shifted due to a larger wave and thought I was going to barf all over the bed but luckily I was able to keep it down. On the night stand next to me was a bottle of water and 2 pills that I quickly swallowed.

Wearing my bathing suit, sunglasses, and a large sun hat I ventured out to join everyone else on the deck. Emmett had prepared me a big bowl of oatmeal and on a normal day I would have enjoyed it but this morning it just made me sick. The site of all the food almost had me running towards the edge of the boat to throw up.

"Someone looks a little green at the gills. Have too much fun last night Bella?"

"Oh shut up Jasper. I never made fun of you when you work up with a hang over."

I pulled my chair over to the shaded area away from everyone else which I hated but it kept me from feeling like the sun was piercing my eyes. It took nearly 2 hours for the pain medicine to fully kick in and take away my headache. I was finally able to move around not feeling like the walking dead but the sun was still too intense.

Emmett and Jasper had been fishing all morning and Rose was sun bathing reading some romance novel with a clichéd couple on the cover. The guys were giving up on fishing since neither one of them had caught a thing all day. I don't understand how they can waste that much time doing literally nothing. They didn't talk, they just sat there waiting for a fish to come along and get caught.

Eventually everyone decided they wanted to go for a swim before we ate dinner. Of course I was not going swimming so I decided to pull my chair over to the edge so that I could watch them. The sun overhead felt amazing but nothing compared to watching everyone have fun in the water.

I have to admit I was super jealous that everyone else was in the water and I was left out. Part of me wished that I could just tell Jasper and Rose the truth but the other part was still not sure if I could trust them. Emmett assured me they would not tell a soul, but you never know people until they get the chance to turn on you.

"Hey Bella, can you hand me a towel?"

I tossed a towel at Jasper who then proceeded to shake like a dog to get the water off of him. Luckily I was out of the splash zone. It was getting dark outside when Jasper got out of the water and Emmett and Rose soon followed suit.

With nothing else to occupy my time I was able to prepare a fairly decent meal for everyone. I prepared a salad to start, had steaks for everyone else marinating waiting on Emmett to cook them, steamed vegetables would be ready when the steaks were done as well as a tray full of perfectly ripened strawberries stuffed with cheesecake filling and sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs. As a substitute for steak I also made myself a black bean burger which Emmett would cook with the steaks.

Emmett was manning the grill while Rose played with the radio and Jasper and I set the table. Rose finally found a song that she didn't mind listening to and Jasper flipped out. He literally started jumping all over the deck and was dancing like a maniac. At one point he tried to dance by Emmett at the grill but got smacked with the spatula.

I had never heard the song that was being played before and working at the bar I had heard several songs now. Rose was also rocking out by the radio but not nearly as bad as Jasper. Emmett even seemed to be bobbing his head. I had to admit the song did have a good beat to it but it was not the best song like Jasper was acting.

I tried to give him plenty of space when I walked around him to go get the glasses for our drinks but I clearly did not as he accidentally elbowed me in the face causing tears to burn my eyes and me stumble backwards. Not only did I trip but I fell completely over the railing and barely had time to catch my breath before I hit the water's surface.

I could hear Emmett yell my name and when I looked up I could see the haloed images of Rose and Jasper looking over the edge trying to find me. The only though running through my mind was the pain that was shooting through my nose. I knew it wasn't broken but it certainly didn't help diminish the pain any.

Emmett was in the water and at my side pulling me to the surface in record time. I was pulled over to the back of the boat where the ladder was but at this point Emmett just waited for me to act. Clearly I wasn't able to climb the ladder but neither was I able to just disappear under the water. The moment to be truthful was upon us and I just hoped they were as loyal as Emmett said they would be.

"Bella! Oh, my God! I am so sorry… Are you ok? Let us help you get out of the water."

Jasper reached down to take my hand which I refused to take. I looked at Emmett with tears in my eyes but this time I wasn't sure they were entirely from the pain in my nose. This moment could change everything. Not just for me but the entire world. If humans knew about Mermaids they could hunt my entire species down until we no longer exist. This would be the biggest moment of our lives.


End file.
